Russia: Yulia Samoylova unveils entry “I Won’t Break”

What a roller coaster 12 months it has been for this year’s Russian entrant Yulia Samoylova. The performer was chosen by the Russian broadcaster Channel One to represent the nation in Ukraine almost a year ago (a year tomorrow, in fact!) in an ill-fated attempt to participate in the Kyiv contest.

After the performer was banned from entering Ukraine for the contest, it was promised that she would represent Russia upon their return to the contest. This year, the Russian broadcaster has kept to their word, and we now have the return entry for Russia in this year’s competition!

Yulia will perform “I Won’t Break” in Lisbon, with the performer once again looking to herself for inspiration. “This is a song about me. It’s as if the authors did their very best to set my own thoughts and feelings to music. It’s not so much a tender ballad as a song about strength”, Samoylova said of the entry.

The head of the Russian delegation for Eurovision, Yuri Aksyuta, has high hopes for 2018; “We have a great performer, a great song and a beautiful show full of meaning. As always, we expect a lot from the contest that is very popular in our country. Russia is back!”